Mexico's Senate approved a list of 10 aspirants on December 2 to succeed Alejandro Gertz Manero as head of the Fiscalía General de la República (FGR). President Claudia Sheinbaum may send the final shortlist tonight, aiming for a vote on Wednesday, December 3. Adán Augusto López proposed a more participatory format for the candidates' hearings.
Following Alejandro Gertz Manero's resignation, Mexico's Senate has sped up the process to select the new attorney general. On Tuesday, December 2, the Senate's Board of Political Coordination approved a list of 10 aspirants, five women and five men, sent to President Claudia Sheinbaum to choose a shortlist of three. The list includes Ernestina Godoy Ramos, current interim FGR head and former Mexico City attorney; Luz María Zarza Delgado, ex-legal director at Pemex; Maribel Bojorges Beltrán, former investigation coordinator at the CDMX prosecutor's office; Sandra Luz González Mogollón, lawyer previously nominated for anti-corruption prosecutor in Veracruz; Mirna Lucía Grande Hernández, head of legal unit at the University of Mexico City Police; Félix Roel Herrera Antonio, former human rights director at Segob Tabasco; Hamlet García Almaguer, former Morena deputy linked to La Luz del Mundo church; David Borja Padilla, former security secretary in Coyuca de Benítez; Luis Manuel Pérez de Acha, former member of the National Anti-Corruption System's Citizen Participation Committee; and Miguel Nava Alvarado, former head of Querétaro's Human Rights Commission.
Morena Senator Adán Augusto López Hernández, Board president, proposed a new hearing format: three question rounds, one per parliamentary group, with two minutes per legislator, followed by 20 minutes for each aspirant to respond and present their work plan. Questions will be direct without interruptions, then bancada statements and ballot vote, needing two-thirds of those present.
PRI coordinator Manuel Añorve said if Sheinbaum sends the shortlist tonight, the process could conclude in Wednesday's ordinary session. “It could be tomorrow morning too, but what is certain is that in the ordinary session on Wednesday, all parliamentary procedure will be exhausted (...) it will be by ballot, in one or two rounds. Before that, there will be questioning from the parliamentary groups,” he stated.
López praised Ernestina Godoy's trajectory: “She is an honest person with a long history in public service.” Meanwhile, Godoy has made key appointments, such as César Oliveros Aparicio to the Specialized Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime on November 28, and Héctor Elizalde Mora to the Criminal Investigation Agency on Tuesday, both linked to Omar García Harfuch. Hamlet García Almaguer stands out for ties to La Luz del Mundo, whose leader Naasón Joaquín faces U.S. charges of sexual abuse and human trafficking.
Sheinbaum highlighted priorities like fighting fuel smuggling and shell invoicing companies. Sources note prior tensions with Gertz Manero over investigation leaks.
